On November 25, the Chopo University Museum will celebrate five decades of being a cultural space that has responded to the needs and interests of the community. Its director, Sol Henaro Palomino, shared that the venue has strengthened and sustained its DNA by accompanying the artistic, cultural, critical and experimental production of the creators.
Located in the Santa María la Ribera neighborhood, the facility was inaugurated in 1975 by Dr. Guillermo Soberón, then rector of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
To celebrate its anniversary, the museum has scheduled a series of activities on the 25th, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., such as the opening of three exhibitions: The flight of Quetzalcoatlus, by Marta Palau; queer operation, y Radiographic: The inner body, by Héctor de Anda; In addition, the Musas Sonideras will offer a concert.
“I have long defended the phrase that this is a social center disguised as a museum, because what has structured the site over the years is closer to a cultural center.
“The tianguis, the Gay Lesbian Cultural Week emerged, as well as meetings closer to internationalism; many of the living arts practices have come from here, they have even taken over the public space in the streets. El Chopo, which escapes what we traditionally associate with the museum, promotes and programs activities in a very broad sense,” Sol Henaro indicated in an interview.
He expressed that in his management he is interested in “looking towards Latin America, especially Central America, a region with which we will work in the following years.
“We are very clear about the generational segment that comes to the museum: young people, but in my management we work to have more children and older adults attend; we want to grow that arc, because it means defending the right to culture and for them to know that culture belongs to them.”
On the occasion of the museum’s 50th anniversary, the director said that they launched the editorial product Chopo Agents, in collaboration with the Pascual y del Arte AC Workers Cultural Foundation. It is a kind of log that includes the space’s activities for children, whose entry is free for them in the company of two adults.
“We are having a hard time promoting this approach with the children’s sector, but we have created exercises so that they become users of the museum.”
Within the program, the exhibitions will be inaugurated queer operation, made from a fanzine in Nicaragua associated with themes of freedom and sex.
In the case of the sample Radiographic: The inner body, by Héctor de Anda, a stained glass window created within the premises with x-rays is presented, where with the passage of light the interior of many subjects can be observed.
Sol Henaro commented to commemorate the anniversary of Chopo it was decided to restore Quetzalcoatlus, monumental piece by Marta Palau that was exhibited for the first time at the venue in 2003 as part of the exhibition Fantastic zoology.
A restoration team worked to preserve the materials of the work (paper, leaves, branches and bark), whose construction process was shown to the public in real time. Now visitors will be able to see the sculpture suspended in one of the rooms that preserves the original height of the building.
Throughout its history, the venue, whose iron structure was designed in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century, has undergone renovations. This year its doors were restored and benches were placed; In addition, the museum’s website and the design of the Archivo Desobediente repository will be renewed.
Since its inauguration, the Chopo University Museum has been a center that promotes contemporary art characterized by its innovative, inclusive and plural vocation. His work has positioned him as a reference for avant-garde art.
The celebration for the 25 years of the Chopo University Museum (10 Doctor Enrique González Martínez Street, Santa María la Ribera neighborhood) will be free on November 25.